Crossing the border with Blue Jays beat reporter Jordan Bastian.

Halladay to Phillies in 3-way blockbuster?

Reports are running wild indicating that Roy Halladay is on the verge of being dealt to Philadelphia in a three-way trade possibly involving Cliff Lee and the Mariners as well.

I’ve heard that Lee will wind up in Seattle, Doc in Philly, and prospects from both sides would be headed to Toronto. Some names being mentioned are Phillippe Aumont, Dominic Brown and Michael Saunders, among others.

Nothing is confirmed or announced at this point. I spoke with Lee’s agent and he said he had not been informed of the trade as of early Monday afternoon. But, keep in mind that Lee does not have a full no-trade clause like Halladay. So, even if Lee wants an extension — much like Doc is reportedly talking about with the Phillies — the lefty doesn’t have the power to block a trade.

UPDATE: According to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, Halladay is talking with the Phils about an extension worth roughly $60 million over three years with a vesting option that could make the deal a year or two longer. A source told me that an official announcement, barring physicals and the extension talks, would likely come Wednesday at the earliest.

UPDATE: Crazy how this stuff changes minute to minute in terms of the names of prospects involved in the deal. Since nothing is nailed down, here’s some of the names being floated in various reports: From Mariners – Philippe Aumont, Michaul Saunders, Carlos Tirunfel, Brandon Morrow; From Phillies – Kyle Drabek, Travis d-Arnaud, Michael Taylor, Domonic Brown. Who’s going where? Too early to say…

UPDATE: An online report indicated that the Blue Jays agreed to a one-year deal worth around $1 million with catcher Ramon Castro. Toronto might announce the signing of catcher John Buck on Tuesday. Perhaps Castro will be announced as well.

UPDATE: Hearing that the Blue Jays may actually be receiving Drabek, Taylor and d’Arnaud from the Phillies and Philadelphia would be receiving the Seattle prospects. Aumont likely headed to the Phils.

–JB

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*An excellent move on behalf of the Phillies… *and* the Mariners. I just touched on the same topic in my latest update – exploring what options are left for the Yankees, and giving some insight to these recent transactions. Check it out:

I think Philly is a perfect fit for Doc. They are set up to win for the next 3 or 4 years with the majority of their big name players under contract for that time. Also, unlike NY and Boston, Doc won’t be held under the media microscope so much there.
I for one hope this deal gets done, and I wish Doc the best of luck, and a pre-congrats on his WS rings over the next 3 years!

Personally I am glad Halladay gets a chance to win and he has been my favorite player so i will definitely miss him but i wish him good luck in his future endeavors.

what we get in return is supposedly reported:
Phillippe Aumont
Michael Taylor
Travis D’arnaud

and I am not happy about that at all.
The best out of those 3 seems to be Michael Taylor who i would project to be .300/20HR/20SB guy. Travis Arnaud to me seems like a solid backup catcher for years to come and Phillippe Aumont might become a solid 3 or 4 guy in the Starting Rotation or closer.

This is with minimal research but someone please tell me I am wrong and we are getting better quality for this or show me stats that i have most likely missed.

A back up catcher, solid-mediocre outfielder and good starter is too little for the best pitcher in his generation, seeing that those three are all young prospects and may not develop at all.

All I can say is that those 3 players are likely to be better players than we would get with 2 draft picks. I would have liked to see at least one blue-chip prospect, like Drabek, but that does not appear likely. I feel your pain, harry, but all we can do is hope that the deal is not quite what is being reported, or that one or more of those players really flourishes. It does seem strange that D’arnaud would be selected, given that we have Arencebia, though. I would have liked to see **** or someone to play third.

That’s it? That’s all we get? Hopefully there is some cash or draft picks or something else coming to Toronto. These are not the big name prospects that have been in other reports. It appears that Halladay’s value has sunk more than I thought. My early posts suggested that it would go down by 50% after the deadline past. Looks closer to 75% of his value left with the trade deadline. This package is definitely a far cry from what the Tigers got for Granderson. This one may fall into Johan Santana territory. Maybe the Jays get more players if Halladay signs a deal? Doesn’t seem like the Jays get much more than they would have got if he left via Free Agency. We’ll see how this all shakes down over the next couple of days. Hopefully I am wrong.

D’arnaud is in my eyes, horrible.
He doesn’t seem to have power or speed. His BA in A or AA is .267.
regardless of whether he is devleoping or not, that is horrible for someone hitting in the lower levels.
and i agree with you
JP Arencebia did an amazing job last year, he hit what 25 HR nad 100+ RBI in a hundred odd games?

i think he was on pace to hit like .250 with 30+ HR and 120+ RBI if his stats were pulled out to match 160 games. (not 162), which is quite amazing for a catcher (not the BA but still)

Hull, Quebec born Phillippe Aumont looks like he is the real deal. I remember when this kid was drafted thinking “it’s too bad the Jays didn’t get him.
His fastball has hard sink and is tough to pick up, tops out at 95 mph, with room for more. The breaking ball (curve) has a chance to be plus pitch, but his changeup is his third pitch and needs to be improved. He has pretty good command, especially for his age, and uses his size well for mound presence. He is projected to be a front of the rotation ace. He is the key to this deal, but needs a year or two to properly stretch him out. You can take a look at him here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAXzFc5a4uY and herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLKMTONC488

Michael Taylor is a 6’6″, 250 pound, 5 tool outfielder, who hit .320/.395/.549 in 116 games between AA and AAA this year. Regarded as the Phillies top offensive prospect, he won the Phillies top prospect player award in 2009 and is compared to a young Howard. Hit 28 doubles, 20 hr’s, knocked in 84 rbi’s and stole 21 bases in 116 games which is amazing considering his size and he’s only 23. The Phillies project him at 30 to 40 hr’s per year, 100+ rbi, guy. He has played both left field and right field and could be ready to go this year.

There is also a rumor J.A, Happ, Joe Blanton and Domonic Brown all took physicals today, suggesting they could be part of the trade as well. M’s top shortstop prospect Carlos Triunifel could also be part of this deal, so it appears there’s multiple rumors about who the Jays actually are getting. I don’t think Travis Arnaud is part of the deal. I must admit though, it is starting to look interesting.

I didn’t believe that Michael taylor looked like a young Howard, personally I think his max potential is at 30-35 HR with 25 SB and 300 batting average which is basically a second adam lind and that is amazing.

Combined with Travis Snider, Adam Lind, Aaron Hill, Dopirak and JP Aren (yes i still have hope in him) we might just have a bunch of controllable players with power and good hitting. We just need a good patient coach to play and develop them properly.

Phillippe Aumont, seemed more like a closer to me, albeit i looked at no scouting reports and obviously the scouts know better than me.

JA Happ would be nice and would definately make this worthwhile for the Jays as will Dominic Brown but Joe Blanton is too old in my eyes.

I believe the Mariners should give up more than just Aumont seeing as they will gain 2 draft picks from lee at the end of the season.

Harry-I’m not sure all these prospects are included in the deal, although it could be if we’re adding a couple of relievers like Accardo and Downs, since the Phillies are desperate for help in the pen.

I agree with Harry. I can’t see how Seattle would get away with just giving up Phillipe Aumont if they are getting Cliff. I think if the Jays have to sweeten the pot to get even more by adding one of or combining Overbay, Downs, Accardo, Frasor then do it.

From Bastian Tweets: Nothing confirmed here, but if Jays get Drabek/Taylor/d’Arnaud in this Halladay deal, what do you Toronto fans think?

Well I like Michael Taylor and I like Drabek more than Phillippe Aumont, because he’s closer to being here and already visited with Dr. Tommy John. Here’s something from the Phillies on him:

Drabek has electric stuff to go along with his family roots. Check out the 21-year-old righty?s stat line in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery (across High-A and Double-A): 12 wins, 3 losses, 3.19 ERA, 150 Ks, 50 BBs, and a .239 BAA. Drabek kept his K/9 over 7.00 and his BB/9 under 3.00 at both levels. This dude has the goods even though he?s still on the relative down-low in the prospect world.

Drabek has a fastball that reaches the mid-90s, a nasty curve with horizontal-like action, and a developing change. Now, some have suggested Drabek?s upside is limited because he only has two-plus pitches (fastball and curve). Don?t believe the nega-hype. Drabek didn?t start using a change until he reached the professional ranks. Further, his signature pitches are so filthy that he will turn out just fine even if his change tops out as average.

Drabek sounds a bit like AJ Burnett but throws a bit softer. However I am sure he will probably develop an arm and might turn into AJ Burnett (already had that Tommy John).

I am really not happy with D’Arnaud, but Taylor and Drabek isn’t bad at all, considering we get Phillpe Aumont as well.

It is also possible that the Mariners send a prospect over to Phillies.

Different sources have different packages of prospects that we recieve listed. There is no way to trust any 1 source. Taylor and Aumont seem to be the only surefire prospects that we will get. I think Adding Drabek would be fine with me and then thrwing in d’arnaud for the heck of it so he can compete with Jerolman for the backup job is alright.

But like Enignma mentioned, i woudln’t mind throwing in Accardo since they want Pen help and accardo is a solid guy and upgrading from taylor to dominic brown or from d’araud to someone else or grabbing another prospect.

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